Written Answers Thursday 8 November 2007

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-4833 by Richard Lochhead on 24 October 2007, what steps it has taken to secure EU state aid approval in order to exercise its discretion to make direct payments to farmers and crofters, or to fund government agencies, non-departmental public bodies or non-governmental organisations to enable them to make payments to farmers and crofters, for positive environmental management on their holdings; when the first approach to secure EU state aid approval was made, to whom it was made and what response was received.

Richard Lochhead: Scottish ministers and officials are actively engaged in discussions with the Commission to expedite approval of the Scottish Rural Development Plan (SRDP). We expect to make payments through the SRDP once approval is received.

Agriculture

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it expects to be copied any future drafts of statements or other documents by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) following the Executive’s release of the recent Defra draft statement for the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government fully expects to continue having a positive working relationship with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Agriculture

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when farmers can expect to receive financial assistance from the Scottish Government’s economic compensation scheme.

Richard Lochhead: We expect payments under the Scottish Ewe Scheme to be made to around 11,600 eligible producers by mid November.

Alcohol Misuse

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-4416 by Adam Ingram on 1 October 2007, what the basis is for its estimate of between 80,000 and 100,000 children in Scotland affected by parental alcohol misuse.

Shona Robison: The estimate of between 80,000 and 100,000 children in Scotland affected by parental alcohol misuse originates from the 2003 Scottish Executive report Getting our priorities right: Good practice guidance for working with families affected by substance misuse . The methodology used in calculating the estimate is not given in the report and it has not been possible to ascertain how the figure was derived.

  The need for more robust estimates of the prevalence of problem drinking among parents is highlighted as a priority area for new research in the recently published Scottish Alcohol Research Framework, a forward research programme compiled by NHS Health Scotland and the Scottish Government.

Alcohol Misuse

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-4416 by Adam Ingram on 1 October 2007, how many children it estimates live with parents affected by alcohol misuse, broken down by local authority area.

Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally.

Allotments

Keith Brown (Ochil) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support allotments through its national planning strategy.

Stewart Stevenson: National planning policy on open space is set out in National Planning Policy Guideline 11: Sport, Physical Recreation and Open Space . This is currently under review and will shortly be replaced by Scottish Planning Policy 11: Open Space and Physical Activity (SPP 11).

  Allotments can be of great value to the community and can create opportunities for local food production, physical activity, healthy eating and biodiversity. SPP 11 recognises this and will require local authorities to take a strategic, long-term approach to managing open space, including allotments, within their areas, objectively assessing community needs and protecting open spaces which can help to meet those needs.

Bridges

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects bridge tolls to be abolished.

Stewart Stevenson: The Abolition of Bridge Tolls (Scotland) Bill was introduced on 3 September 2007. The principles of the bill will be debated on 15 November 2007 and further progress is subject to the will of the Parliament. However, ministers expect the bill to complete its parliamentary stages by the end of the year, and the tolls would end as soon as practicable thereafter.

Care of Elderly People

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-828 by Shona Robison on 20 June 2007, when guidance on the administration of medication will be in place for the care home service.

Shona Robison: The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain published The Handling of Medicines in Social Care on 16 October 2007. It will be officially launched in Edinburgh on 21 November 2007. This new booklet is accessible to all care workers and replaces The Administration and Control of Medicines in Care Homes and Children Services .

  www.rpsgb.org/pdfs/handlingmedsocialcare.pdf.

  The Nursing and Midwifery Council published new standards in early October, Standards for Medicines Management, which replace the Guidelines for the Administration of Medicines.

  www.nmc-uk.org/aFrameDisplay.aspx?DocumentID=325.

  The National Prescribing Centre recently published A guide to good practice in the management of controlled drugs in primary care (England). It is currently being adapted for Scotland.

  All of these documents have specific sections relating to medicines management and administration of medicines in care homes.

  The Care Commission website and the Care Home Learning Network website contain a number of medicines management guidelines and links to best practice, safety and drug alerts, safety notices etc.

Children and Young People

Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-2152 by Adam Ingram on 9 August 2007, whether it is confident that communication procedures between police, NHS boards and local authorities are now in place to enable them to share information on children at risk through exposure to drug misuse.

Adam Ingram: The guidance on inter-agency co-operation Protecting Children: A Shared Responsibility (1998: paras 2.14-24), the Framework for Standards (2004: Standard 4), and the Guidance for Child Protection Committees (2005: section 3:12 ) set out the Scottish Government’s requirements on agencies to establish and maintain suitable communications procedures for sharing information about children at risk.

  The government’s confidence in how well this is being done is founded principally on two evidence bases. The first is that Child Protection Committees are required to prepare and submit to the Scottish Government their Annual Reports which feed into local Integrated Children’s Service Plans. On a routine basis, we expect these reports to evidence developments in joint working and information sharing.

  The second and more focused source of evidence is provided by the Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education-led joint inspection of child protection services across Scotland. Nine joint inspection reports (out of 30) have so far been published. The scoring for the indicator "information-sharing and recording" shows that eight of those nine reports rate well under this measure - six are scored as "good", two as "adequate" and one as "weak".

  Based on this evidence, the Scottish Government is broadly confident that inter-agency communication procedures are in place and working adequately well, although there is continued scope for improvement in this area. That is why the government has recently sought a wide range of views on a draft Code of Practice for Sharing Information when there are concerns about a child. The 87 responses are currently being analysed and will inform a redrafting of the code in coming months.

Children and Young People

Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-2152 by Adam Ingram on 9 August 2007, whether it is confident that effective procedures are in place to ensure that information relating to at-risk children is shared between agencies.

Adam Ingram: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-5455 on 8 November 2007. This highlights the requirements for effective information-sharing set out by the Scottish Government in guidance, the sources of evidence used by the government to assess the extent to which those requirements are being delivered in practice and refers to work on a draft Code of Practice for Sharing Information when there are concerns about a child.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Culture

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether and how it will ensure that cultural entitlements are central to its culture policy.

Linda Fabiani: As I announced in my statement to the Parliament on 7 November 2007, the Scottish Government’s future cultural policy framework will be one that affirms the place of culture in this nation, and which acknowledges the important role played by culture and creative practitioners. The Scottish Government is committed to widening access to cultural opportunities for people across Scotland to ensure that they can participate in and enjoy a wealth of cultural experience which they have also had the opportunity to develop.

Culture

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people have benefited from the youth music initiative and whether it will continue to support this initiative.

Linda Fabiani: Figures published as part of the Scottish Arts Council Annual Report 2006-07 state that there were almost 490,000 attendances on Youth Music Initiative "P6 target" projects in the three years 2003-06. The P6 target is focused on ensuring all school children have had access to one year’s free music tuition by the time they reach primary 6. It should be noted that figures are published only for those Youth Music Initiative projects which are delivered to the target group. These do not include, for example, attendances at Youth Music Initiative projects which are aimed at older children. All future spending commitments across the Scottish Government are subject to final confirmation of the outcome of the spending review.

Dentistry

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS patients have been de-registered from dental practices in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison: The latest available information is shown in the following table.

  NHS General Dental Service Patients whose Registration Status Shows "Withdrawn"1,2; by NHS Board for Financial Years Ending 31 March 2003-07

  

 
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07


Scotland
12,224
24,720
32,781
42,021
31,180


Argyll and Clyde
99
170
1,622
2,066
x


Ayrshire and Arran
209
188
224
241
703


Borders
332
10,104
1,402
1,504
4,525


Dumfries and Galloway
963
1,288
189
6,567
1,073


Fife
529
974
10,480
4,971
9,201


Forth Valley
278
384
288
3,145
365


Grampian
4,616
6,712
6,008
11,821
5,229


Greater Glasgow
1,369
939
647
772
x


Greater Glasgow and Clyde3
x
x
x
x
2,315


Highland
488
262
454
637
x


Highland3
x
x
x
x
1,182


Lanarkshire
427
329
1,083
387
760


Lothian
1,845
2,482
2,433
7,357
3,680


Orkney
-
81
3
-
-


Shetland
1
2
1
3
3


Tayside
1,039
764
4,611
2,516
2,132


Western Isles
29
41
3,336
34
12



  Source: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System).

  Notes:

  - no data.

  x not applicable.

  1. Based on patients whose registration status indicated "withdrawn" between the dates considered. This occurs when there is a request for the registration record to be withdrawn (made usually by the dentist, and subsequently approved by the NHS board). The numbers also include withdrawals carried out where more than one active registration exists for the same patient as part of data cleansing. Some patients whose registration has been withdrawn may register with another NHS dentist elsewhere. There may also be retrospective additions to these data.

  2. If a patient has been withdrawn from more than one dental practice, they will be counted each time this happens. It is also possible for a patient to be counted in more than one NHS board if they have moved to a dentist in a different NHS board area and have been withdrawn from practices in each NHS board where they have received NHS general dental services.

  3. The dissolution of Argyll and Clyde took effect from 1 April 2006. From this date, NHS Argyll and Clyde patients are included in figures for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Highland.

Dentistry

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS patients have been de-registered from dental practices in each of the last five years, broken down into age groups: (a) 0 to 2, (b) 3 to 5, (c) 6 to 12, (d) 13 to 17, (e) 18 to 24, (f) 25 to 34, (g) 35 to 44, (h) 45 to 54, (i) 55 to 64, (j) 65 to 74 and (k) 75 and over.

Shona Robison: The latest available information is shown in the following table.

  NHS General Dental Service Patients whose Registration Status Shows "Withdrawn"1,2; by Age Group for Financial Years Ending 31 March 2003 to 2007

  

 
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07


All ages
12,232
24,726
32,787
42,040
31,201


0-2
38
76
93
123
68


3-5
114
197
232
281
176


6-12
378
547
704
993
585


13-17
267
421
527
680
536


18-24
1,060
2,128
2,856
3,520
2,886


25-34
2,022
3,468
4,958
5,704
4,012


35-44
2,828
5,493
7,459
8,822
6,915


45-54
2,411
4,884
6,414
8,232
6,505


55-64
1,779
3,913
5,024
7,144
5,404


65-74
939
2,370
2,944
4,350
2,700


75+
396
1,229
1,576
2,191
1,414



  Source: MIDAS (Management Information & Dental Accounting System).

  Notes:

  1. Based on patients whose registration status indicated "withdrawn" between the dates considered. This occurs when there is a request for the registration record to be withdrawn (made usually by the dentist, and subsequently approved by the NHS board). The numbers also include withdrawals carried out where more than one active registration exists for the same patient as part of data cleansing. Some patients whose registration has been withdrawn may register with another NHS dentist elsewhere. There may also be retrospective additions to these data.

  2. If a patient has been withdrawn from more than one dental practice, they will be counted each time this happens. It is also possible for a patient to be counted in more than one age group if they have moved to a dentist after their birthday and have been withdrawn from another practice in the same year.

Dentistry

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review the length of time that must elapse in which a patient does not visit their dentist prior to de-registration taking place.

Shona Robison: The registration period for continuing care and capitation patients was extended from the previous 15 months to 36 months for those patients who register or re-register with a dentist on or after 1 April 2006. While we have no immediate plans to change this registration period we will keep the matter under review.

Domestic Abuse

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support and guidance is available to its employees affected by domestic violence.

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support and guidance is available to its managers to increase awareness in the workplace of the signs of domestic violence and to develop effective responses.

Shirley-Anne Somerville (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has plans to develop and adopt a domestic violence employment policy.

John Swinney: Tackling domestic abuse is a priority for the Scottish Government and we have worked closely with our staff networks, trades unions and internal and external partners to raise awareness of the issue and to create and implement an effective domestic violence policy.

  We will publish our policy for staff during the week commencing 26 November 2007, to coincide with National Domestic Violence Week. It will provide guidance for both staff and managers in identifying and dealing with domestic violence and will also signpost internal and external support organisations that can help those who have experienced, or are experiencing, domestic abuse.

  In addition, key staff within our Human Resources function have been trained in identifying domestic abuse and providing support for staff and line managers.

Economy

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its economic strategy.

John Swinney: I am pleased to announce that the Government Economic Strategy is being published on 13 November 2007. The strategy sets out how we can deliver the Government’s Purpose of increasing sustainable economic growth. The Government Economic Strategy will be available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre from the 13 (Bib. number 43999).

Education

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what safeguards there are to prevent the exposure of children to (a) political bias and (b) scientific inaccuracy or misrepresentation in the classroom.

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to review any safeguards that exist to prevent the exposure of children to (a) political bias and (b) scientific inaccuracy or misrepresentation in the classroom, following the ruling of Mr Justice Burton in the High Court in London concerning the showing of the film, An Inconvenient Truth, in English schools.

Maureen Watt: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-5294 on 2 November 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Education and Lifelong Learning

Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional resources have been allocated to the budget for Education and Lifelong Learning since May 2007.

Adam Ingram: Since May 2007 I have actively redeployed resources already allocated to the budget for Education and Lifelong Learning in order to both align expenditure with the government’s priorities and to better serve the people of Scotland. Examples include funding for an extra 300 teachers in our schools and 250 teacher training places and £40 million of additional investment in the fabric of Scotland’s schools.

  There has been one addition to the budget since May 2007: the extra £100 million of capital funding for universities and colleges across Scotland announced on 26 October 2007.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what decision-making and spending powers the new regional organisations for enterprise will have.

Jim Mather: These will be operational matters for the enterprise networks.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will monitor whether the restructuring of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise increases productivity.

Jim Mather: The government’s new performance framework, focussed on delivery of the government’s purpose and five strategic objectives, will be published shortly with the Strategic Spending Review.

  The national outcomes and indicators that accompany the spending review will remove the proliferation of competing priorities and act as the basis for discussions on delivery agreements with local government and other providers, including the enterprise networks. These more detailed plans will be published in due course.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many and (b) which local authorities and local enterprise companies are currently in the process of co-locating.

Jim Mather: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands & Islands Enterprise.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether public sector involvement in Katalyst Projects Ltd will be transferred from Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway to Dumfries and Galloway Council.

Jim Mather: Work is underway by Scottish Enterprise, in consultation with the Scottish Government, to restructure and to refocus its activities. Scottish Enterprise is working closely with its customers, partners and stakeholders, to ensure the delivery of day to day business. Decisions on the future delivery of individual projects will be determined in due course.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the national Business Gateway website will be maintained after responsibility for Business Gateway passes to local authorities and, if so, who will be responsible for such maintenance.

Jim Mather: In order to ensure national consistency of the Business Gateway website, Scottish Enterprise will continue to have responsibility for its maintenance after the transfer of the management of the local Business Gateway contracts to local authorities.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether transferring responsibility for the delivery of Business Gateway to 32 councils instead of 12 local enterprise companies will increase complexity.

Jim Mather: No. The transfer of responsibility to local authorities from the delivery of the Business Gateway contract will assist in developing greater coherence in the delivery of local business support.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise networks’ local enterprise companies will cease to exist.

Jim Mather: Local enterprise companies will continue to operate until the end of the current financial year.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and (b) Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism met representatives of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce prior to the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement on 26 September 2007 about the restructuring of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Jim Mather: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth did not meet with representatives from the Scottish Chambers of Commerce prior to the announcement of the reform of the enterprise networks whilst I met with them on three occasions to discuss this issue.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and (b) Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism met representatives of CBI Scotland prior to the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement on 26 September 2007 about the restructuring of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Jim Mather: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth met with representatives from the CBI twice prior to the announcement of the reform of the enterprise networks whilst I met with them on three occasions.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and (b) Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism met representatives of the Federation of Small Businesses Scotland prior to the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement on 26 September 2007 about the restructuring of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Jim Mather: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth did not meet with representatives from the Federation of Small Businesses Scotland times prior to the announcement of the reform of the enterprise networks. I met with them twice.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and (b) Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism met representatives of Scottish Financial Enterprise prior to the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement on 26 September 2007 about the restructuring of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Jim Mather: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth met with representatives from Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE) once prior to the announcement of the reform of the enterprise networks as did I when we discussed future plans with SFE and other business organisations.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and (b) Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism met representatives of the Institute of Directors prior to the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement on 26 September 2007 about the restructuring of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Jim Mather: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth did not meet with representatives from the Institute of Directors prior to the announcement of the reform of the enterprise networks. I met with them twice.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and (b) Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism met representatives of the Scottish Trades Union Congress prior to the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement on 26 September 2007 about the restructuring of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Jim Mather: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth met with representatives from Scottish Trade Union Congress once prior to the announcement of the reform of the enterprise networks whilst I met with them on two occasions.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and (b) Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism met chairs and chief executives of the enterprise networks prior to the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement on 26 September 2007 about the restructuring of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Jim Mather: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth met with the Chair and Chief Executives of the enterprise networks four times prior to the announcement of the reform of the enterprise networks whilst I met with them on fourteen occasions.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and (b) Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism met trade unions representing staff employed in the enterprise networks prior to the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement on 26 September 2007 about the restructuring of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Jim Mather: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth met with the STUC once prior to the announcement and I met with them twice.

Enterprise

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and (b) Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism met representatives of COSLA prior to the Cabinet Secretary’s announcement on 26 September 2007 about the restructuring of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

Jim Mather: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth met with representatives from COSLA seven times prior to the announcement of the reform of the enterprise networks whilst I met with them on three occasions. These meetings and discussions covered wider topics than just the issue of enterprise networks.

Enterprise

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, what body or bodies will make decisions on the allocation of funding to Fife for enterprise and local economic development under the new Scottish Enterprise structure and (a) where the body will be based, (b) from which individuals and organisations it will be formed and (c) for which areas, other than Fife, the body will make such funding decisions.

Jim Mather: These will be operational matters for Scottish Enterprise within the parameters set by the Cabinet Secretary’s statement to Parliament.

Enterprise

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, who under the new structure will make decisions currently made by Scottish Enterprise Fife and where the new decision-makers will be based.

Jim Mather: This will be an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. However, as now, decisions affecting Fife will reflect local Fife priorities and be informed by a continued Scottish Enterprise presence in Fife.

Enterprise

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, whether existing Scottish Enterprise Fife staff will remain based in Fife, whether they will be given any decision-making responsibility and, if so, what decisions these will be.

Jim Mather: These are operational matters for Scottish Enterprise. However, as now, decisions affecting Fife will reflect local Fife priorities and be informed by a continued Scottish Enterprise presence in Fife.

Enterprise

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what grants are administered through Scottish Enterprise Fife and, of these, which are (a) under review, (b) to end, (c) to continue to be administered by Scottish Enterprise staff based in Fife without review, (d) to continue without review but administered by Scottish Enterprise staff not based in Fife, (e) to continue without review but administered by non-Scottish Enterprise staff based in Fife and (f) to continue without review but administered by non-Scottish Enterprise staff not based in Fife.

Jim Mather: Scottish Enterprise Fife administers a range of grants for businesses, which are offered throughout the Scottish Enterprise network. These cover:

  Strategy development

  Market development

  Innovation

  Workforce development

  Business improvement

  Investment, and

  Start-Up.

  The administration and delivery of these products is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.

Enterprise

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, how community partnerships in Fife will be able to have input to operations at local, regional or Scotland-wide level under the new Scottish Enterprise structure.

Jim Mather: As the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth made clear in his statement, the proposed regional structure will enable existing partnerships and collaborations with the enterprise networks to continue, broaden and develop further.

Enterprise

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been invested in Fife for enterprise and local economic development in each of the last five years.

Jim Mather: The funding allocations for Scottish Enterprise Fife in each of the last five years, ending 31 March, expressed in £000, are as follows:

  2007 - 18,172

  2006 - 22,569

  2005 - 22,235

  2004 - 22,225

  2003 - 18,885.

Enterprise

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, what assurances it can give that under the new Scottish Enterprise structure funding for enterprise and economic development in Fife will not fall below current levels.

Jim Mather: This will be an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.

Enterprise

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, what status and function the Fife Economic Forum will have under the new Scottish Enterprise structure.

Jim Mather: The formal requirement for Local Economic Forum structures matching Local Enterprise Company boundaries will cease at the end of this financial year with the winding up of the local enterprise companies. However, I am aware that in areas such as Fife there may be excellent examples of effective local collaboration between local offices of the enterprise networks, local authorities, the business community and others. Where such strong local partnerships exist, these will be able to continue to operate within the regional model.

Enterprise

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish Enterprise full-time equivalent staff are employed in the Fife area and whether the Executive will ensure that these levels do not fall following restructuring of the enterprise networks.

Jim Mather: There are currently 43 full-time equivalent staff based at Scottish Enterprise Fife, not including locally based Careers Scotland staff. Allocation of staff resources is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.

Enterprise

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise staff will be relocated to the Fife region.

Jim Mather: This will be an operational matter for VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise.

Enterprise

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, what the financial costs and savings will be of co-locating Scottish Enterprise staff with local authority staff in (a) Fife and (b) Scotland.

Jim Mather: Co-location of staff will be an operational matter for discussion between Scottish Enterprise and relevant local authorities which will be encouraged by the Scottish Government. It is therefore not possible to quantify costs or savings at present.

Enterprise

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, what the financial costs and savings will be from the networks, VisitScotland and other organisations sharing back-office functions and other activities such as marketing in (a) Fife and (b) Scotland.

Jim Mather: Work is currently underway between the enterprise networks and VisitScotland to identify opportunities for shared services. It is therefore not possible to quantify costs or savings at present.

Enterprise

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, what decisions regarding enterprise and economic development will continue to be made at the local level in Fife.

Jim Mather: This will be an operation matter for Scottish Enterprise. However, as now, such decisions will reflect local Fife priorities and be informed by a continued Scottish Enterprise presence in Fife.

Enterprise

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, how it will ensure that aligning VisitScotland with the six new regional enterprise bodies will not lead to a reduction in focus on Fife’s tourist industry.

Jim Mather: This is an operational matter for VisitScotland. The aim of re-aligning VisitScotland areas to match those of the new enterprise network regions is to increase the effectiveness of partnership working with the enterprise network alongside tourism businesses with the potential to grow, and thus to release resources to deliver more locally. VisitScotland will continue to promote Scotland and areas such as Fife – as a must-visit, must-return destinations.

Enterprise

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, what powers and assets will be transferred from Scottish Enterprise Fife to Fife Council.

Jim Mather: Local regeneration activity and management of the Business Gateway contract will become the responsibility of the local authority. This will mean some reallocation of funds from Scottish Enterprise to local authorities but the detail of this will be decided when the exact nature of the activity to be transferred is finalised, subject to the results of the forthcoming Spending Review announcement.

Enterprise

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, what powers and assets will be transferred from Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire to East Dunbartonshire Council.

Jim Mather: Local regeneration activity and management of the local Business Gateway contracts will become the responsibility of local authorities. This will mean some reallocation of funds from Scottish Enterprise to local authorities but the detail of this will be decided when the exact nature of the activity to be transferred is determined, subject to the results of the forthcoming Spending Review announcement.

Enterprise

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, what decisions regarding enterprise and economic development will continue to be made at the local level in East Dunbartonshire.

Jim Mather: As regards the enterprise networks, this will be an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. However, as now, such decisions will reflect local priorities and be informed by a continued local Scottish Enterprise presence. Other decisions will continue to be made by the local authority.

Enterprise

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, what the financial costs and savings will be of co-locating Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire staff with local authority staff in East Dunbartonshire.

Jim Mather: Co-location of staff will be an operational matter for discussion between Scottish Enterprise and relevant local authorities. It is therefore not possible to quantify costs or savings at present.

Enterprise

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire staff will be relocated to East Dunbartonshire Council.

Jim Mather: This will be an operational matter for VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise in discussion with East Dunbartonshire Council.

Enterprise

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire full-time equivalent staff are employed in the East Dunbartonshire area and whether the Executive will ensure that these levels do not fall following restructuring of the enterprise networks.

Jim Mather: Allocation of staff resources is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. There are currently 44.5 full-time equivalent staff based at the local Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire office in Clydebank. There is no separate Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire office in the East Dunbartonshire area though there are some locally based Careers Scotland staff.

Enterprise

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, how community partnerships in East Dunbartonshire will be able to have input to operations at local, regional or Scotland-wide level under the new Scottish Enterprise structure.

Jim Mather: As the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth made clear in his statement, the proposed regional structure will enable existing partnerships and collaborations with the enterprise networks to continue.

Enterprise

David Whitton (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement on enterprise networks by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 26 September 2007, who under the new structure will make decisions currently made by Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire and where the new decision-makers will be based.

Jim Mather: This will be an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. However, as now, decisions affecting East Dunbartonshire will reflect local priorities and be informed by a continued local Scottish Enterprise presence.

Environment

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether nationally allowable noise levels apply to industrial premises in close proximity to residential properties.

Richard Lochhead: No. Regulation of noise from industrial premises is dependent on the size and type of industry. Noise from larger industrial plants is controlled through a permit system regulated by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency under the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2000. Any noise issues arising from smaller industrial plants could be pursued by the relevant local authority under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Farepak

Christopher Harvie (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what communications it has had from the Department of Trade and Industry and its successor about the reasons for the collapse of the Farepak company; how many savers were involved in Scotland, and what information it has about when the department will make public the findings of its inquiry.

Jim Mather: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) informed the Scottish Government that as of 4 October 2007 the company is in liquidation and the Farepak website ( www.farepak.co.uk ) was updated to reflect this.

  Companies Investigations Branch is conducting a large and complex investigation involving analysis of a mass of documents and information and interviews with numerous parties. They expect to complete the investigation by the end of 2007. However, you should note that there is a legal bar preventing publication of the reports of investigations of this type. On completion, the findings will be considered to decide on further action. Any evidence pointing to improper conduct on the part of anyone involved may be passed to regulators or prosecuting authorities. The information obtained can also be used as a basis for disqualification of directors.

  According to information provided by the liquidators of Farepak, there are 5,091 Scottish agents (not customers). It is not possible to provide an accurate number of Scottish customers.

  Answers to two parliamentary questions on Farepak were tabled in the Houses of Parliament on 19 October 2007 and can be found in Hansard at Column 1284W.

Film Industry

Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria it will apply when evaluating any requests it receives for support in establishing a major new film studio in Scotland.

Linda Fabiani: On the assumption that a proposal was submitted that included a valid business case, the Scottish Government would, in the first instance, seek evaluation reports from Scottish Screen, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to establish the commercial and financial viability of the proposal over the long-term. Using the advice provided we would then consider whether government support was necessary or appropriate.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown by local authority area of the number of sheep culled for welfare reasons under the Sheep Welfare Scheme.

Richard Lochhead: As at 2 November 2007, 60,632 animals have been slaughtered under the Sheep Welfare Scheme. The following table shows the number of animals presented to collection centres within the local authority areas listed. These animals were subsequently slaughtered. The local authority areas listed are those which contain one or more collection centres.

  

Local Authority Area
Number of Animals Presented (and Slaughtered)


Aberdeenshire
1,388


Angus
873


Argyll and Bute
11,080


Dumfries and Galloway
6,507


Highlands
5,291


Orkney Islands
2,358


Perth and Kinross
3,653


Scottish Borders
3,641


Shetland Islands
18,565


South Lanarkshire
4,048


Stirling
3,228


Total
60,632

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many sheep it estimates were culled as a result of actions arising from the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak before the Sheep Welfare Scheme came into operation.

Richard Lochhead: This information is not recorded. The Sheep Welfare Scheme was introduced to prevent light lambs from suffering and dying on the hills as a consequence of measures taken to reduce the risk of spreading foot-and-mouth disease.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a written, formal and costed application was made to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs or HM Treasury for a compensation scheme for farmers following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in August 2007 and prior to 25 October 2007; for what types of support and sectors any such application was made; what costs were attached to each element, and on what date any such application was made.

Richard Lochhead: I wrote to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 27 September 2007 explaining the urgent need for a sheep welfare scheme and reiterating our view that it should be funded by the UK Government. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 24 October 2007 with details of the full £25 million package that I announced in Parliament that day. The letter stated that financial support from the UK Government would be appropriate to address the specific issues which emerged from the Pirbright outbreak of foot and mouth disease. Once the UK Government has accepted in principle that it has responsibility for this funding, we can discuss the details.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment or any officials acting on his behalf recommended or encouraged NFU Scotland to make representations to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on a compensation scheme following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in August 2007, and whether the Cabinet Secretary or any officials offered formal or informal support for the case that NFU Scotland was proposing to make to Defra in respect of a compensation package.

Richard Lochhead: No. We have been in regular discussions with stakeholders since the beginning of the foot-and-mouth outbreak. While we have made clear that funding responsibility for foot-and-mouth disease compensation rests with the UK Government, the Scottish Government has made its own representations to UK ministers on this issue.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in respect of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in August 2007, any communication accompanying the draft statement provided to the Executive by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) that indicated what the Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and the Environment might say to the UK Parliament indicated that it had been approved by the Secretary of State as the final statement, or was qualified in any way as being a draft yet to be approved by the Secretary of State.

Richard Lochhead: The draft speech received by Scottish Government officials on the morning of the 8 October 2007 announcement was a late draft. Defra officials had noted that it may be subject to revision.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive in what respects it considered the NFU Scotland estimates quantifying the need for compensation for farmers in respect of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in August 2007 to be deficient.

Richard Lochhead: While we have considerable sympathy with the case put forward by NFU Scotland requesting funding for Scottish farmers following the recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, it does not fully reflect recent developments (such as the reopening of export markets and availability of Private Storage Aids for pig meat). We discussed the matter of compensation with the NFU Scotland and the wider industry, taking into account NFU Scotland estimates of need. We also took account of funding available to the Scottish Government. The package of measures that I announced on 24 October 2007 provides immediate relief to those most hard pressed as a result of foot-and-mouth disease while supporting the long term viability of the industry.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific financial assistance it has formally requested from the UK Government other than assistance under the Sheep Welfare Scheme.

Richard Lochhead: The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth wrote to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 24 October 2007 seeking reimbursement of £25 million, which we estimate to be the cost of the support package that I announced on that day. The package includes the cost of the Sheep Welfare Scheme. We still await a formal response.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Contingency Plan has been reviewed to address the bluetongue outbreak in England.

Richard Lochhead: Bluetongue and foot-and-mouth disease are two separate exotic notifiable diseases requiring separate disease control responses. The UK Bluetongue Control Strategy is being revised as a result of a new Commission Regulation on bluetongue.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the healthy living campaign and supplemental programmes have been monitored and reviewed to ensure that people receive appropriate health improvement advice.

Shona Robison: The impact of the health improvement campaigns, including the "healthy living" campaign, were until 2005 evaluated on behalf of the Scottish Government by NHS Health Scotland through the Health Education Population Survey (Scotland) and a communications tracking survey. The most recent published findings of both may be found at the following links.

  http://www.healthscotland.com/documents/1380.aspx.

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/1093/0038218.pdf.

  Core questions previously asked in the Health Education Population Survey (Scotland) on attitudes to health improvement and awareness of government and NHS advice will be included in the revised Scottish Health Survey which will run continuously from 2008. Scottish Government health improvement campaigns have been evaluated on an individual basis by the Office of the Chief Researcher since 2005.

  Evaluation of the various elements of the National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Wellbeing includes a biennial public attitudes survey Well? What do you think? that tracks attitudes towards mental health.

Historic Monuments

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in relation to the proposed merger of the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments and Historic Scotland.

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made on its plans to merge the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and Historic Scotland.

Linda Fabiani: We are currently considering the commitment to merge Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments (RCAHMS) with Historic Scotland within our wider proposals to simplify the Scottish public sector landscape. Our intention is to simplify Scottish public services and reduce the number of public bodies operating in Scotland by a quarter by the end of this Parliament.

Historic Scotland

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress Historic Scotland is making in its audit of the historic environment.

Linda Fabiani: We are making good progress with our audit of the historic environment. It is a process rather than a single piece of work. So far, we have completed our preliminary survey of baseline data. Shortly, we will be agreeing the data that we want to collect in future to measure relevant changes over time. Periodically, we will then conduct audits using that data.

  More particularly, Historic Scotland:

  has established an Historic Environment Audit Stakeholder Advisory Group (HEASAG) to involve the sector fully in the development of the audit;

  has developed a dedicated audit website to inform the public about the audit:

  (www.heritageaudit.org.uk);

  has surveyed available information on the historic environment and is working with HEASAG to prioritise improvements to the evidence base, and

  has prepared a first report for publication later this year, to be entitled A Review of Existing Information for Scotland’s Historic Environment Audit.

Inter-Governmental Links

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it routinely plans to release draft documents given to it by the UK Government as part of the process of inter-governmental co-operation.

Linda Fabiani: The Scottish Government will continue to treat documents received from the UK Government in accordance with the principles outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding.

  A copy of the Memorandum of Understanding is lodged with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

International Development

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its timetable is for delivering a doubling of its international aid budget.

Linda Fabiani: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-4132 on 18 September 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

International Relations

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-3643 by Linda Fabiani on 4 September 2007, when it will be in a position to announce which African countries it will provide with aid and when such aid will be provided.

Linda Fabiani: The review of the International Development Policy, which I launched on 23 August 2007, only closed on 31 October. Once all the responses have been properly assessed, I will confirm which other countries will receive our support and when the International Development Fund will reopen.

International Relations

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the doubling of the international aid budget announced on 23 August 2007 will be immediate or incremental.

Linda Fabiani: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-4132 on 18 September. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

International Relations

Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow Maryhill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a report on the outcome of the Scotland-Malawi Joint Commission meeting in July 2007.

Linda Fabiani: The Scottish Government is currently looking to provide an update on the outcome of the July Joint Commission on our website but we wish to agree this with the Government of Malawi first.

Lifelong Learning

John Park (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to publish its programme for the implementation of Skills for Scotland: A Lifelong Skills Strategy, as referred to by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 12 September 2007 ( Official Report c. 1585).

Fiona Hyslop: The government will update parliament on significant developments on implementation of Skills for Scotland as and when they arise and one of the key developments announced by the government already has been the establishment of a merged body focussed on skills, to be up and running by 1 April 2008. One of their first key tasks will be to develop a robust operational plan linked to achieving the government’s strategic priorities for skills.

  Official Report c. 1585 made clear that the Skills Strategy was not our implementation plan of the Leitch Review of Skills.

Livestock

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been paid to farmers and crofters under the Sheep Welfare Scheme, also broken down by local authority area.

Richard Lochhead: The information requested is provided in the following table which shows that as of 2 November 2007, a total of £292,965 has been processed for payment. The local authority areas listed are those which contain one or more collection centres.

  

Local Authority Area
Payments Processed


Aberdeenshire
£20,835


Argyll and Bute
£92,040


Dumfries and Galloway
£87,555


Orkney Islands
£19,230


Perth and Kinross
£17,925


Shetland Islands
£10,500


South Lanarkshire
£37,260


Stirling
£7,620


Total
£292,965

Meat Industry

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding is available under the Rural Development Plan which could be allocated to enable new rural abattoirs to be established.

Richard Lochhead: There is no specific allocation of funds through the Scotland Rural Development Programme 2007-13 for the establishment of rural abattoirs. However, grants may be available through the programme on a competitive basis under the Agriculture Processing and Marketing Grant Scheme towards the construction of new facilities, or the upgrading of existing facilities, as well as the purchase of plant and equipment. In certain circumstances assistance can also be made available towards wider business development costs such as feasibility studies and business plans. Under the new programme £60 million has been allocated to the Food Processing and Marketing Grant Scheme.

Meat Industry

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the best locations for new rural abattoirs.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government supports the principle of the slaughter of animals close to the point of rearing wherever possible. While the location of any new abattoirs is a commercial matter for individual operators, our draft Scotland Rural Development Programme does includes measures offering support for new rural abattoirs.

Museums and Galleries

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which museums and galleries have benefited from the Significance Scheme.

Linda Fabiani: Seventeen museum and gallery collections have been identified as being significant to the nation under the Recognition Scheme and six have been awarded funding. Details are available on the Scottish Museums Council’s website at:

  http://www.scottishmuseums.org.uk/news/2007/Recognisedcollections1007.asp.

Parking Charges

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the levying of charges for parking at out-of-town shopping developments.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government has not investigated the merits of levying charges for parking at out-of-town shopping developments. One of the strategic outcomes we are aiming for in relation to transport is to improve the quality, accessibility and affordability of public transport to enable better access to services for the people of Scotland.

Parking Charges

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what research indicates that compulsory charges for out-of-town parking contribute to the regeneration of town centres.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government is not aware of any research on the impact of compulsory charges for out-of-town parking on the regeneration of town centres.

Police

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers are deployed in community policing.

Kenny MacAskill: The numbers of officers deployed on community policing is an operational matter for Chief Constables, and may vary due to other daily policing challenges. The Scottish Government is committed to working with Chief Constables and Joint Police Boards to deliver 1,000 additional officers into our communities through increased recruitment of officers; redeployment of officers to front line tasks, and improved retention of skilled and experienced officers. Our aim is to ensure that every community in Scotland has a clear understanding of the levels of visible, identifiable and accessible policing they have a right to expect; how communities will know whether those levels are being met, and how communities’ views will be taken into account in setting policing priorities.

Police

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what responsibilities (a) chief constables, (b) police boards and (c) Scottish ministers have in relation to the operational deployment of police officers and whether there are any plans to change such responsibilities.

Kenny MacAskill: Under the tripartite arrangement for the accountability for the police service in Scotland, Scottish ministers retain overall responsibility for setting strategic priorities and national policing policy. Police authorities are responsible for securing the maintenance of an efficient and effective police force, overseeing the work of the chief constable and holding him/her to account for the policing of the force area. Chief constables are responsible for the enforcement of the law and for operational aspects of policing in their force area.

  There are currently no plans to change these responsibilities.

Pre-School Education

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to further enhance the provision of nursery education.

Adam Ingram: We are committed to increasing nursery entitlement for three and four-year-olds by 50% and to provide access to a teacher for every child in pre-school, starting in deprived communities. Initial steps towards achieving these commitments were announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 20 June 2007 and we are working with partners in local government to consider further steps in this process.

Pre-School Education

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many families have benefited from an increased entitlement to pre-school education from August 2007.

Adam Ingram: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-5721 on 7 November 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Public Transport

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will work with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport to consider proposals to expand and develop Glasgow’s subway system.

Stewart Stevenson: No proposals have yet been received. My officials are in regular contact with SPT and would be happy to discuss any proposals they may have regarding the Glasgow subway.

Public Transport

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it would cost to link the existing Glasgow subway network to the site of the new national indoor arena, near the planned Commonwealth Games village in the east end of the city.

Stewart Stevenson: No proposals have yet been received. If we receive a formal proposal my officials will be happy to engage with SPT.

Public Transport

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support it will provide to Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) to investigate improvements to the Glasgow subway system.

Stewart Stevenson: SPT have a capital budget of £25 million in 2007-08, some of which they have used to fund an outline business case for improving the subway system. My officials will be happy to meet with SPT to discuss any funding issues identified by the study.

Public Transport

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change will next meet the Chair and Chief Executive of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport to discuss improvements to the Glasgow subway network.

Stewart Stevenson: If proposals are received I would be happy to meet with SPT to discuss improvements to the Glasgow subway network.

Rail Network

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints it has received about Network Rail’s treatment of angling clubs and those who engage in freshwater fishing in lochs in central Scotland; what the nature of the complaints has been, and what action is being taken to deal with such complaints.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government has received no complaints relating to the Network Rail’s treatment of angling clubs and those who engage in freshwater fishing in lochs in central Scotland.

Rail Network

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects a Sunday service to be operational on the Larkhall to Milngavie rail link.

Stewart Stevenson: An hourly Sunday service will operate between Larkhall and Partick from the next timetable change date, 9 December 2007.

Recycling

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many local authorities have introduced a three bin collection system.

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact three bin collection systems have had on recycling targets.

Richard Lochhead: There are currently 11 local authorities offering three bin systems to some or all of their households. Information on these authorities and their recycling/composting rate for 2006-07, as reported by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency is shown as follows:

  

Council with 3 Bin System
2006-07 Recycling/Composting Rate (%)


Dundee 
31


East Ayrshire
35.3


Falkirk 
35


Fife 
32.5


Glasgow 
16.8


Inverclyde
20.1


North Lanarkshire 
27.7


Perth and Kinross
34


South Ayrshire
39.3


West Dunbartonshire 
32


West Lothian 
34.5



  Across Scotland, the recycling/composting rate in 2006-07, as reported by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, was 28.4%.

Renewable Energy

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make a decision on the (a) Mark Hill, (b) Arecleoch, (c) Dersalloch, (d) Afton, and (e) Kyle wind farm applications under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989.

Jim Mather: The Mark Hill, Arecleoch, Dersalloch, Afton and Kyle wind farm applications are currently being processed under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. Scottish ministers will determine each consent application after careful and thorough consideration of all material issues, in accordance with the relevant legislative and planning obligations.

Roads

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will meet the SNP manifesto commitment to dual the A9 from Perth to Inverness, in light of the recent HITRANS report which estimates that dualling the A9 could boost the Highlands economy by almost £1 billion over the next 30 years.

Stewart Stevenson: This Scottish Government is fully committed to plan for dualling the A9. We made that commitment when we came into government, and we stand by that commitment.

  I have already asked Transport Scotland to take forward work to identify the next part of the A9 to be dualled.

  Future investment will emerge from the Strategic Transport Projects Review which is examining the longer term needs of Scotland’s national strategic transport network in order to develop an investment plan. The A9 corridor is a key element in the Review which is due to report to ministers in summer 2008. I welcome the recent HITRANS/HIE report which will be a useful contribution to this review.

Roads

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the difference is between its plan for upgrading the full length of the M8 to motorway standard and the proposals of the previous administration.

Stewart Stevenson: The M8 corridor is being reviewed as part of the Strategic Transport Projects Review which is currently under way and will report in the summer of 2008. I set out our commitment to the planned upgrading of the last remaining gap on the M8 corridor between Baillieston to Newhouse to motorway standard in my statement to Parliament on 27 June. Draft orders for the scheme were published on 23 October 2007, underlining this commitment.

Schools

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with the Accounts Commission on reviewing the commission’s advice that a 60% capacity in schools should be a criterion used by local authorities in decisions to place the future of schools under review.

Maureen Watt: There have been discussions with representatives of the Accounts Commission around the interpretation and use of the 60% occupancy figure which was referred to in the Commission’s 1995 report Room for Learning – Managing Surplus Capacity in School Buildings . The Cabinet Secretary also raised this at a meeting with the Auditor General on 31 October 2007. The Scottish Government is clear that any criteria for reviewing a school’s future must be a matter for the local authority, which has statutory responsibility for managing and maintaining its school estate.

Scottish Government Ministers

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Permanent Secretary was informed by the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change of his personal shareholdings, in particular his shareholding in ScottishPower/Iberdrola.

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Permanent Secretary was informed by the Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism of his personal shareholdings.

John Swinney: The Permanent Secretary has been in discussion with all ministers about their financial and non financial interests since their appointments in May.

Student Finance

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to increase support for poorer students.

Adam Ingram: We have taken a quick first step to develop a fair student support package by introducing a Bill to abolish the Graduate Endowment Fee.

  We intend to consult widely on our further proposals on student support next year.

Supermarkets

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in the consideration of Tesco Stores Ltd’s appeal to the Scottish ministers in respect of its planning application to build a major superstore at Beith Street, Partick, Glasgow.

Stewart Stevenson: The Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) has received two valid planning appeals from Tesco Stores Ltd against the failure to give decisions on applications for planning permission by Glasgow City Council for retail development on land to the south of Beith Street, Glasgow. The appeals are in the early stage of processing and the public local inquiry is likely to take place in spring 2008. In keeping with the majority of appeals determined by DPEA, these appeals will be determined by a reporter from DPEA acting under powers delegated by Scottish ministers.

Transport

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the predicted cost is of the Scottish Government’s proposed Edinburgh Airport rail link, also broken down into component parts.

Stewart Stevenson: The full programme of improvements proposed to rail travel between Edinburgh and Glasgow is anticipated to cost between £500 and £1,000 million in 2006 prices, as set out in the STAG report Strategic Transport Projects Review – Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvements,  which can be found on the Transport Scotland website at www.transportscotland.gov.uk . Within this total, the cost of providing the Dalmeny chord and a new station at Gogar linked to the tram network (as an alternative to the EARL project) is estimated at around £200 million.

  Further design and development work will now be undertaken to define particular work structures necessary for delivery of the programme.

Transport

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support proposals to expand the Glasgow subway network to the east end of the city to support regeneration and boost economic development.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Government will carefully consider any proposals to expand the Glasgow Subway. We have yet to receive formal proposals from SPT.

Transport

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what items of expenditure were incurred under the heading of "Transfer from Air Services to Calmac for restructuring costs" in Schedule 3.10 of the 2006-07 spring budget revision.

Stewart Stevenson: The £4 million that is referred to at Schedule 3.10 of the Scottish Executive’s 2006-07 spring budget revision represents the capital provision that was made in that financial year in order to strengthen Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd’s capital base prior to the restructuring of the company as a preliminary to the tendering of the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services contract.

VisitScotland

Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many VisitScotland full-time equivalent staff are employed in the Fife area and whether the Executive will ensure that these levels do not fall following restructuring of VisitScotland.

Jim Mather: VisitScotland has 18.63 full-time equivalent staff in the Fife area.

  The future allocation of staff is an operational matter for VisitScotland, who will ensure that appropriate resources are provided to continue to promote Scotland and its constituent parts – as quality must visit, must-return destinations.

Voluntary Sector

Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether retraining of social workers and other front-line staff in the voluntary sector has taken place to ensure the effective sharing of information relating to at-risk children.

Adam Ingram: The reply to question S3W-5455 on 8 November 2007 sets out the requirements on child protection agencies for effective information-sharing set out by the Scottish Government in guidance documents since 1998 and refers to work on a draft Code of Practice for Sharing Information when there are concerns about a child.

  Between September 2005 and March 2007, the Scottish Government has made available over 2,500 training places under Children at the Centre – a national training programme for social workers in child care and protection. An evaluation of the effectiveness of this programme and consideration of next steps is under discussion.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Young Offenders

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to tackle the overcrowding at Polmont Young Offenders Institution reported by the Chief Inspector of Prisons.

Fergus Ewing: Darroch Hall at HM Prison Greenock is planned to accommodate Young Adults from the 19 November 2007 providing an additional 54 places.

  In addition a new Houseblock at HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont will open in early 2009. This will provide 137 places.